2007/01/17

So I'm back in Tokyo this week since Monday. Some changes at work may mean I will move to Amsterdam to help expand the business there. I'm pretty excited about the prospect of living in Europe and occasionally visiting Japan once a quarter or so. Japan is a great place to visit, but living in Tokyo is another matter altogether. Especially if you work 12 hours a day and are expected to work weekends if there are any problems.

I chatted with a coworker in Europe about quality of life versus work performance in The Netherlands and Japan. In Japan, long hours imply productivity regardless of what you are doing. This is definitely true for a lot of my Japanese coworkers. In The Netherlands, if you often work late, you might be seen as inefficient or poor at delegating. HR might come around to ask you what your problem is.

I think working in NL will allow me more of a life outside of work without instigating questions about why I leave work before the CTO does. Plus going to other countries can be a weekend trip rather than a big ordeal. Also, I hear Mobile Monday is starting up in Amsterdam, so I could still do some networking without a train ticket or rental car.

Maybe soon I will have to change my subtitle to "Working on the mobile web in Amsterdam". Fingers crossed...